Secret
by shootingforthestars
Summary: Gabriella Montez had a secret. At the age of twelve she had to bury her mother. Troy Bolton had a secret. At the age of thirteen he had to send his father to jail.


Secret

Gabriella Montez had a secret. At the age of twelve she had to bury her mother. Troy Bolton had a secret. At the age of thirteen he had to send his father to jail.

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Gabriella walked into school as she always did, with her head down and her binder hugged to her chest. She had her normal black long-sleeved shirt on, a pair of skinny jeans and classic black converse. Her hair was tied in a ponytail and she had no make-up on, unlike every other girl at East High. She winced as she heard the cheerleaders squeal, which only meant one thing, Troy Bolton had arrived.

Troy walked into school as he always did, with his head up, and his backpack thrown lazily across his back. He smiled when he saw the crowd of people already coming his way. He wasn't a jerk and he didn't embrace his popularity with his life; he just smiled politely to all the people who liked him. He was wearing a plain dark blue polo, a pair of dark washed jeans, and navy vans. He looked past the sea of people and finally found her.

Little did Gabriella know, Troy Bolton watched her everyday at school. He found her intriguing and mysterious. Maybe it was the fact that she was the only girl that hadn't thrown herself at him, or maybe it was just the simple fact that she was shockingly beautiful in his eyes.

Gabriella walked toward her locker which was, thankfully, on the other side of the hall. She placed her binder on the top shelf and took her books out of her bag and placed different ones in them. She looked to her side and spotted Troy; she tilted her head to the side and studied him. He was putting on a show like he always did, she saw through the act.

Troy looked up to see her staring at him, her head was tilted to the side and she was biting her bottom lip, two signs that clearly indicated she was thinking. When she came back to reality her eyes locked onto his. She gasped and looked down. He just smiled wider and pushed through the crowd.

She could feel the blush growing on her face. She looked to her side again, and gasped when she found him pushing through the sea of people towards her. _He looks almost like an exact replica of_, but she cut herself short. She couldn't think of that right now.

"Hi," he said as he finally reached her.

"Uhm, hi," was her reply, "can I help you?"

He chuckled, he then caught her staring again, "I'm sorry is there something on my face?" She came out of her daze and jumped in surprise, "Oh! Uhm, no. Nothing! I have to go," she picked up her bag and turned on her heel. He looked too much like him.

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_She sounded like an angel too,_ he thought as he went by his day in a slight daze. The bell finally rang signaling the end of school and luckily, he didn't have any practice that day. Maybe he could go to the park before visiting his father today. He grabbed his backpack in his locker and filled it with the books he needed for homework. He walked to his car opened the driver's door and threw his backpack inside. _She looks like that mother that my dad shot,_ he thought. He remembered the sight of her shocked face and then pain the next second. _Pain?_ He thought again to himself, he sighed in frustration as he ran his hand through his hair. He started his car and drove to the park.

_What would he want with me?_ Gabriella thought aimlessly as she looked into the blue sky, _the color of his eyes, _she thought to herself. She gasped, why should that matter to her? She sighed; she found her feet taking her into the direction of the park. The park always helped her clear her mind. She shrugged; maybe a little stop before visiting her mother's grave wouldn't hurt.

Gabriella sat herself on the swing and swung gently. She gasped gently when someone started pushing her lightly. "Fancy seeing you here," a voice from behind her said. She knew that voice from anywhere, "I could say the same for you too Bolton." She gasped again, "Bolton?" She asked in a whisper and jumped off the swing.

He looked at her strangely, "Uhh yea… Bolton? Is that a problem?" Tears came to her eyes as she shook her head, "No, no."

"Gabriella, are you okay?" Her body shook as she kneeled onto her knees and began to sob. How had she not realized it before? He was a complete carbon copy of his father! He was the son of her- no she couldn't say it, saying it would make it real.

Troy moved to her and hugged her frail body in his arms, "Shh, its okay. I'm here." She sobbed into his chest and clung to his t-shirt. "El? You okay?" He asked her after she had calmed down a little. "Your father," she said as she tried to catch her breath, "your father is he…?" She couldn't make herself finish the sentence; it would only make the reality real.

"My father is a monster not worth speaking about," he said gently to her as he rubbed her arm up and down, trying to give some type of comfort. "My mother," she gasped out as she tried to take in air.

"What about your mother? Is she alright?" He asked her as he continuously rubbed her arms and embraced her tightly. "My mother… my mother is, my mother is dead," she finally said as a fresh set of tears coursed down her cheeks.

Troy's eyes widened in shock, how could someone so innocent have so much taken away from her? "I'm so sorry, El. Is there anything I can do for you?" He asked sincerely.

She shook her head, "Ana-Marie Montez was my mother," she told him gently. As this information sunk in, he too shook his head, "That would mean, my father…" he couldn't finish the sentence. "Oh my God. I am so sorry Ella!" he hugged her tighter as she still cried into his chest. Cried into the arms of the son of her mother's murder.


End file.
